Page 94 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"Tony," Eluheed said quietly. "Stay here. I'll find out what's happening and make sure the ladies are protected."
"How can you make sure of that? You're just—" Tony cut himself off, but Eluheed knew what he'd been about to say. 'You're just human.'
He wasn't human, but he wasn't like these immortal warriors either, and most importantly, he didn't have a weapon.
"It's going to be fine." Eluheed followed the guard out.
The drive to Navuh's mansion was stressful. The fighting was still at a distance, with rapid gunfire now more prevalent than explosions, but the entire island wasn't all that big, and it wouldn't take long before the forces reached this area.
"Rifles are the great equalizer," the guard muttered, following Eluheed's gaze. "Doesn't matter how strong or fast they are if you can put enough bullets in them."
"Can bullets kill them?"
The guard's laugh was bitter. "No, and the bastards are difficult to incapacitate, but once they are out, we cut their heads off. That works."
When they reached Navuh's mansion, Eluheed's tension eased. Soldiers surrounded the outer fence—hundreds of them, arranged in defensive rings with overlapping fields of fire. Machine gun nests had been set up at key points, and Eluheed could see snipers on the roof. Whatever else was happening on the island, Navuh's residence was secure.
Their vehicle was allowed through the gate only after it was thoroughly inspected to ensure no one was hitching a ride with them, and then they were parked in front of the entrance.
Seeing that the courtyard was also crawling with soldiers, Eluheed let out a breath. He wanted to call Tony and ease his fears about Tula, but he didn't have a phone, and neither did Tony. The enhanced soldiers might be super strong, but they weren't invincible, and even they couldn't assault a position this well-defended without taking massive casualties.
Inside the mansion, servants scurried through the halls, some carrying supplies, others boarding up windows. The beautiful modern structure was being transformed into a fortress.
Navuh's office door stood open. The lord was at his desk, multiple screens displaying feeds from across the island. His face was a mask of cold fury and determination.
"Leave us," Navuh ordered the guard without looking up.
The door closed behind Eluheed with a decisive click.
"Sit," Navuh commanded, finally raising his eyes to meet Eluheed's. He extended his hand across the desk. "Tell me how this ends."
He took the offered hand, feeling the barely controlled rage beneath Navuh's skin. He opened his mind to the connection and immediately wished he hadn't.
The visions came in a torrent of blood and fire—the island burning, bodies piled up, soldiers running through ruins. But that wasn't much different from what he had seen before, and beyond that, the future fractured into a thousand possibilities, each one shifting and changing like smoke.
He saw Navuh victorious.
He saw Navuh's head on a pike.
He saw the island abandoned, empty except for carrion birds picking at the dead.
He saw Areana weeping over Navuh's broken body.
He saw Tamira?—
No. He pulled back from that vision, unable to bear what it showed.
"Well?" Navuh's grip tightened painfully. "What do you see?"
"Chaos," Eluheed said, his voice hoarse. "The future is undecided. Too many variables, too many choices yet to be made. All I see clearly is chaos."
"That's not good enough!" Navuh's other hand slammed down on the desk. "I need to know how this ends!"
"The visions don't work that way, my lord. They show possibilities, not certainties. Right now, there are too many paths forward. The rebellion has created a fracture point. Every decision made in the next few hours will determine which future becomes reality."
Navuh released his hand with disgust, sitting back in his chair. "Zhao, the one responsible for this fiasco, is dead," he said, the words dripping venom. "The coward killed himself rather than face his failure."
So, Zhao was gone, and with him, any chance of the poison Tamira wanted. Eluheed felt a complex mix of relief and disappointment. Relief that he wouldn't have to deliver to her the means to end her own life, disappointment that he couldn't give her the only choice she might have.
